Nike To Slash Over 1,600 Jobs To Cut Costs As Demand Weakens

Some of the biggest names in Corporate America have kicked off the year with large layoffs. Companies announced plans to cut 82,307 positions last month, up 136% from December and the second-most of any in January since the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2009, according to Challenger, Gray, and Christmas.

Among the reasons for the cuts, which continued in February, companies are dialing back after over-hiring during the pandemic and trimming certain areas to invest in others, such as artificial intelligence.

Here’s a list of some of the large layoffs announced in 2024:

Alphabet Inc.’s Google is laying off hundreds of people working on its digital assistant, hardware and engineering teams as part of a continued effort to lower costs and focus on artificial intelligence. The reductions come as Google’s core internet search business feels the heat from the AI offerings of rivals Microsoft Corp. and ChatGPT-creator OpenAI.

Amazon.com Inc. announced hundreds of layoffs in its health care division, following 2022 and 2023 reductions totaling 27,000 workers, as Chief Executive Officer Andy Jassy looked to cut costs after expanding rapidly during the pandemic.

BlackRock Inc. will dismiss about 600 employees, or roughly 3% of its global workforce, as it seeks to reallocate resources amid rapid changes in asset management. “We see our industry changing faster than at any time since the founding of BlackRock,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink and President Rob Kapito wrote in a memo to staff.

Cisco Systems Inc., the largest maker of networking equipment, plans to cut thousands of jobs after a slowdown in corporate tech spending wiped out its sales growth. A restructuring plan will affect roughly 5% of Cisco’s workforce. It had almost 85,000 employees as of last year, suggesting that the move will involve approximately 4,000 jobs.

This year will be a “turning point” for Citigroup Inc., according to Chief Executive Officer Jane Fraser. She is looking to decrease bureaucracy and increase profitability. It will eliminate 20,000 roles.

DocuSign Inc. is cutting about 6% of its workforce as part of a restructuring effort after talks to sell itself appear to have stalled. The move will mostly affect staff in sales and marketing. DocuSign had 7,336 employees at the end of 2023.

Duolingo Inc. started to fire contractors in January while making a move to rely on generative artificial intelligence to develop “new content dramatically faster.” No full-time employees were affected by the cutback.

Staffing and expenses have outpaced growth at eBay Inc., so it will lay off 9% of its staff or about about 1,000 job cuts. This marks the second round of cuts at the company in a year: In February 2023, it announced a 4% cut of its workforce, citing a slowdown in consumer spending following the pandemic-fueled e-commerce boom.

Estée Lauder Cos. is cutting as many as 3,000 positions as part of a restructuring plan aimed at making the owner of the Ordinary and Clinique brands a leaner and more profitable company, so it can respond more quickly to beauty trends fueled by social media and invest more in its brands.

Microsoft Corp. will lay off 1,900 people across its video-game divisions including at Activision Blizzard, which it purchased for $69 billion in an acquisition that closed late last year.

Morgan Stanley is planning to eliminate several hundred jobs, the first such move under Chief Executive Officer Ted Pick. The cuts will affect less than 1% of employees in the wealth-management business, which has about 40,000 workers and is the firm’s largest unit, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

Nike Inc. will slash its global workforce by about 2% as the sportswear giant pushes on with efforts to reduce costs to counter a weaker sales outlook and growing competition. The Oregon-based firm didn’t provide the number of workers that will be affected, though it currently has about 83,700 employees worldwide.

PayPal Holdings Inc., struggling to keep up with competition from Apple Inc. and Zelle, announced about 2,500 cuts in January. This follows a similar round of cuts last January.

Snap Inc. is reducing its workforce by roughly 10% worldwide to “best position our business to execute on our highest priorities.” Like its social media peers, Snap has been working to offset a deceleration in ad revenue.

After reporting disappointing earnings, United Parcel Service Inc. announced it would save more than $1 billion by cutting 12,000 of its 85,000 management jobs. The company also will demand that workers be in the office five days a week. And it will study selling its trucking brokerage business, which has slumped amid a freight recession.

Warner Music Group will cut 10% of its staff, largely from websites Uproxx and HipHopDx, as well as a podcast network. It’s looking to cut $200 million in costs annually. The company said the money will be directed back into new opportunities.